Air Vanuatu has cancelled international flights for four days and is considering bankruptcy protection for the South Pacific state-owned carrier.

U.S. officials say newly-approved legislation providing billions of dollars in funding for three strategically important Pacific island nations is an important sign of American commitment, which comes amid warnings China is actively trying to pry them away from Washington’s sphere of influence.

Tuvalu’s former Attorney General Feleti Teo has been named prime minister of the tiny South Pacific nation after elections a month ago ousted the last government leader.

The Australian government has signed a security pact with its nearest neighbor Papua New Guinea that strengthens Australia’s place as the preferred security partner in a region where China’s influence is growing.

A group of South Pacific leaders was due to travel to the beautiful island of Aitutaki on Thursday ahead of a meeting to discuss climate change and other regional concerns.

President Joe Biden has informed leaders from the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum that he has heard their warnings about the impact of climate change on their region.

The Solomon Islands has signed an agreement to boost cooperation with China on law enforcement and security matters in a move likely to raise concerns among the South Pacific island's traditional partners.

China is warning against the introduction of “geopolitical games” in the South Pacific following the announcement that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Papua New Guinea next week.

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused a small tsunami to wash ashore on South Pacific islands Friday.

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Australia has signed a new security deal with Oceania island country Vanuatu as part of an ongoing competition with China for influence in the Pacific.

Britain's top envoy for the Indo-Pacific says Australia’s shift to nuclear-powered submarines will assure its South Pacific neighbors of the UK's commitment to regional security.

Australia says its navy ships have been given clearance to resume visits to the Solomon Islands, which had last week announced a temporary block on all military vessels during a review of its approval processes.

President Joe Biden will host Pacific Island leaders in Washington later this month amid growing worries by the U.S. and Western allies about China’s activity in the region.

The Solomon Islands' government has asked countries to not send naval vessels to the South Pacific nation until approval processes are overhauled.

A U.S. coast guard cutter conducting patrols as part of an international mission to prevent illegal fishing was recently unable to get clearance for a scheduled port call in the Solomon Islands.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the Chinese military has become significantly more aggressive and dangerous over the past five years.

Australia’s new foreign minister has visited the Solomon Islands to assure the South Pacific island nation it does not need a security pact with China.

A top State Department official says the American diplomatic push aimed at countering China’s increasing influence in the Asia-Pacific region appears to be paying dividends, with many nations showing a willingness to partner with the United States.

The foreign ministers of Australia and China were both making their final stops Friday on what has become an island-hopping diplomatic duel in the South Pacific.

Australia and China are continuing their tit-for-tat diplomatic rivalry in the Pacific as the foreign ministers from each country pay separate visits to island nations.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Tonga on Tuesday as he continued his regional island-hopping tour a day after failing to ink an ambitious deal with 10 South Pacific nations.

China’s foreign minister has met with the leaders of Samoa on the third stop of an island-hopping tour aimed at deepening China’s ties with Pacific nations.

When China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands in April it raised concerns from the U.S. and its allies that Beijing may be seeking a military outpost in the South Pacific, an area of traditional American naval dominance.

China’s foreign minister is visiting the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati, where the future of a vast fishing ground is at stake.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting South Pacific nations amid concerns over Beijing's growing military and diplomatic presence in the region.

China wants 10 small Pacific nations to endorse a sweeping agreement covering everything from security to fisheries in what one leader warns is a game-changing bid by China to wrest control of the region.

A Chinese ambassador says China’s engagement with South Pacific island countries poses no threat to Australia, responding to fears that Beijing will establish a military foothold in the Solomon Islands.

A security alliance between China and the Solomon Islands has sent shudders throughout the South Pacific, with many worried it could set off a large-scale military buildup or that Western animosity to the deal could play into China’s hands.

Seeking to counter fears over its new security alliance with China, the Solomon Islands says it won’t allow China to build a military base there.

Australian maritime experts believe the wreck of one of the most important ships in the history of the South Pacific has been found, but archaeologists in the U.S. quickly countered by saying the findings were premature.

Despite sitting almost on top of the volcano that erupted so violently, the Pacific nation of Tonga appears to have avoided the widespread devastation that many initially feared.

Voters in the South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia are set to decide Sunday whether to break away from France.

Australian telco Telstra has partnered with the Australian government in a $1.6 billion deal to buy the South Pacific operations of Digicel in a deal that would prevent a key part of the region’s telecommunications infrastructure from falling into Chinese hands.

A think tank says China gave significantly less aid to Pacific island nations in recent years despite Beijing’s diplomatic efforts to increase its influence in the region.

Samoa appears set to get its first woman leader after the nation’s top court on Monday reinstated the results of a knife-edge election last month.

People gather on high ground in Whangarei, New Zealand, as a tsunami warning is issued Friday, March 5, 2021. The largest quake struck about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) off the coast of New Zealand. After the largest quake, civil defense authorities in New Zealand told people in some coastal areas to immediately get to higher ground. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties, and the warning was lifted just before the largest quake hit. AdIn 2011, a magnitude 6.3 quake hit the city of Christchurch, killing 185 people and destroying much of its downtown.

People gather on high ground in Whangarei, New Zealand, as a tsunami warning is issued Friday, March 5, 2021. Small tsunami waves were seen, but little damage was apparent hours later. The tsunami threat caused traffic jams and some chaos in New Zealand as people scrambled to get to higher ground. Smaller waves were measured elsewhere in the South Pacific. In 2011, a magnitude 6.3 quake hit the city of Christchurch, killing 185 people and destroying much of its downtown.

The largest cluster of places without the coronavirus can be found in the scattered islands of the South Pacific. Here's a closer look:PACIFIC ISLANDS: The largest cluster of countries without the coronavirus is in the South Pacific. Much of the South Pacific is relatively poor and has basic health systems that would be ill-equipped to deal with major outbreaks. Not everywhere in the South Pacific has been spared, either. ___Associated Press reporters Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and Daria Litvinova in Moscow contributed to this report.

The overseas ministry said results show 53.3% of the voters who participated in the referendum have chosen to maintain ties with France, while 46.7% supported independence. The overseas ministry said 53.3% of voters chose to maintain ties with France while 46.7% supported independence. Sunday’s independence referendum was among the final steps of longstanding plans to settle tensions on the archipelago between native Kanaks seeking independence and residents willing to remain in France. The president of the archipelago's government, Thierry Santa, is among those who want New Caledonia to remain a French territory. New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony.

Voters in New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, are to choose whether they want independence from France in a referendum that marks a milestone in a three-decades-long decolonization effort. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, file)NOUMEA – Voters in New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, will choose whether they want independence from France in a referendum that marks a milestone in a three-decade decolonization effort. Independence activists campaigning for the “yes” vote want all sovereign powers, including justice, police, the military, currency and foreign relations, to be transferred from France to New Caledonia. While France is one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries, with around 32,000 confirmed deaths, New Caledonia has reported no virus-related deaths. The New Caledonia archipelago became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony.